1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pipes and conduits, and more particularly to prefabricated pipes and conduits having a covering of temperature insulation adhered thereto. The novel insulated conduits are formed in a variety of configurations, such as straight and bent. In one embodiment of the invention, the invention comprises a kit comprising individual members of different configurations. The invention finds utility in construction of plumbing and other fluid handling conduit systems. In particular, the invention assists mechanics in installing and assembling such systems in new construction, renovation, repair, maintenance, of buildings. Construction and modification in other applications, such as industrial and commercial conduit systems, may also benefit from the invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heating, plumbing, industrial and commercial liquid handling systems occasionally require insulation. In typical construction, renovation, and repair work, a system of conduits, such as pipes, is first assembled and subsequently insulated. This process is feasible when access to individual conduits and sections of conduits is available. However, in some situations, access is so severely limited that insulation cannot feasibly be installed after the conduit system is complete.
An example is seen in renovation of residential buildings wherein pipes are routed through walls and floors. Individual conduits may possibly pass through and near structural members such as joists, electrical and mechanical objects such as wiring, other pipes, ducts, fans and their housings, and the like. Proximity to such objects may render the usual methods of insulating impossible or nearly so without requiring dismantling of the interfering object or system. Yet there may be sufficient space in the building to accommodate the conduit and an insulating jacket.
The prior art has proposed insulated conduits. U.S. Pat No. 5,722,462, issued to Hamadi Dridi et al. On Mar. 3, 1998, describes a flexible insulated conduit having a conduit at its core, a wound insulating covering, and an external protective casing. By contrast, the present invention lacks an external protective casing, has an insulating covering which is not limited to wound construction, and has exposed portions of the conduit which extend outside the insulating cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,379, issued to William L. Manofsky et al. On Jul. 7, 1998, describes preformed insulating material which can be slipped over a conduit for the purpose of insulating the conduit. By contrast, the present invention includes a conduit disposed within the insulating cover, with the insulating cover adhered to the conduit. The insulating cover in the present invention cannot be pulled longitudinally along the conduit, as is practiced with the device of Manofsky et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,380, issued to David D. Onan et al. on Aug. 11, 1998, describes a construction wherein several pipes are bundled together and insulated. The present invention provides, by contrast, one conduit having its own insulating cover. Each section of insulated conduit in the present invention extends beyond the insulating cover. These characteristics are not seen in the bundled pipe of Onan et al.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.